Any advice on C2C please?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Globalti

Legendary Member
I'm anticipating having a few days of unused holidays in the Autumn and would like to do the C2C. I have bought the Sustrans map and am surprised to see that their version of the route is only 136 miles. I have a cycling/climbing pal who lives in Garrigill, half way along the route, where I could stop a night.

I suppose I could do it on an MTB over 3 or 4 days but this uses precious time and I suspect I might find it unchallenging. I've done 48 mile MTB days on Polaris, with a couple of thousand feet of climbing thrown in; I'm no roadie but I have a heavy Peugeot road bike, which is a comfortable and enjoyable ride. I reckon if I can do 48 off road, 70 miles on tarmac shoudn't be a problem, which would take me all the way through the Lakes, up the first Pennine hill and into Garrigill for the night. There follow a couple more big hills before the long gentle descent to the North Sea. If I got a stiff following wind, it would be even better, so later in the Autumn might be more appropriate.

To be honest my only major concern is how my back and hands might feel on such a long road ride. Would a pure road bike be appropriate anyway for some of the country tracks? Would it be better on my more comfortable MTB with slicks or semi-slicks?

What do others think of this rudimentary plan?
 
Your plan sounds like a lot of fun. Like you I am a seasoned mtb'er and did the C2C earlier in the year over 3 days, not 2, and I did it into a 15mph headwind. It was definitely doable in 2 days, but they would be long days if you were carrying any kind of weight. Tailwind would definitely help. I was starting out at 10am and finishing around 4.30 with long lunches and other caf stops. I definitely wasn't bored though. And even after two days of climbing things like Whinlatter Pass, Hartside and up out of Garrigill (which is an absolute tw*t), the hardest climb on the whole ride is CrawleyBank just out of Stanhope/Rookhope (can't remember which), which is the last one before you descend to Tynemouth, IMO anyway.
 
Oh yes and I did it on a Dawes Ultragalaxy on 28mm Continental contact touring tyres. They coped fine in Whinlatter forest and other bits of very mild off road that are in there. You could do it on a regular roadbike but you'd need a triple at least. Test out what you've got and see if you get any numbness and backache before you start and then adjust to fit.
 
OP
OP
Globalti

Globalti

Legendary Member
Hmmmm.... sounds as if I might be better off on the hardtail with a rack and panniers and some skinny commuter tyres, the same setup I use for Polaris events. That road bike may be faster but it does have TALL gearing!
 
Top Bottom